


not quite heaven

by Satine86



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hospitals, Humor, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 18:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14195523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satine86/pseuds/Satine86
Summary: “Can I ask you something?” he rasped.“Of course.” She sat up a little, rested her hands gently on his chest.“Am I dead?”





	not quite heaven

**Author's Note:**

> I found this in my drafts and decided it was cute enough to post. Poor, confused Phillip. It's probably the morphine talking?

It wasn't that there was something wrong with the kiss. In fact it was the exact opposite: the kiss was absolutely perfect. _That_ was what gave him pause. Slowly, reluctant, Phillip broke the kiss and gazed up at Anne, his hand still in her hair while hers cradled his face. 

Her eyes were bright and shining as she looked at him, her smile unwavering. In the glowing afternoon light - at least he thought it was afternoon - in a room that seemed spotless white in his peripheral vision, he thought she looked like an angel. Beautiful and vibrant and completely unharmed.

“Can I ask you something?” he rasped.

“Of course.” She sat up a little, rested her hands gently on his chest. 

“Am I dead?”

At his question, Anne’s eyes widened slightly in confusion before she slammed them shut, her face crinkling with laughter. He wasn’t quite sure it warranted such a response, it seemed a reasonable explanation for everything. 

The last thing he remembered before waking was smoke and desperation choking him while flames licked his skin. The roar of the inferno near deafening in his ears, only to be punctuated by the loud creaking and cracking of wood before the sky came crashing down around him. Now his world was clean and crisp and Anne was kissing him. Surely that was a definition of heaven.

Of course the longer she took to compose herself, the more lucid he became and the dawning realization that this was, in fact, real hit him like a ton of bricks and mortar. He was alive, Anne was safe, and she had kissed him. _Kissed_ him. A warm hope spread throughout his chest, banishing any discomfort he felt from his bandages and burns. 

“No, you're not dead,” she finally said. “You're in the hospital because you ran into a burning building like a reckless fool.”

“I was trying to find you,” he whispered, tucking a tendril of hair behind her ear. “Someone might say that's a little heroic.”

Anne laughed and shook her head. “Someone might, but I still think the choice was more idiotic than heroic.”

“Wasn’t much of a choice, I had to make sure you were safe,” he said softly. There had been no time to think, no time to even wonder if she might be elsewhere. All he knew was that she wasn’t clustered with the others, and he _needed_ to see her safe. Nothing else mattered until he knew she was. “Though even if it was a choice, I’d probably still do it.” 

Phillip smiled at how her nose wrinkled, indignant. He started to suck in a deep breath, laughter bubbling up because in that moment he was so happy he didn't know what else to do, only his lungs protested. They burned and spasmed and he started coughing, so hard it wracked his entire body as he rolled to one side. 

Anne’s worried hands rubbed his back, and were quickly joined by another set that must have belonged to the doctor because soon Phillip had a cold stethoscope snaked down the collar of his shirt and pressed against his skin. 

Once the coughing subsided, once he had cleared his throat of soot and grime, the nurse onhand kindly disposing of the remnants before fetching a glass of cool water, the doctor spoke.

“Luckily, I don’t believe there to be any permanent damage, but your lungs need time to recover from such trauma.” He replaced his stethoscope around his neck, looking between Phillip and Anne. “You need rest for now, then some deep breathing exercises, and eventually you should be right as rain. Some of your burns are a little more serious, and they’ll need tending for the foreseeable future. Though overall I would say you were quite lucky, Mr. Carlyle.”

Phillip smiled and thanked the man before he turned to check on the other patients. The doctor didn’t even know the half of Phillip’s luck, or perhaps he did. The kiss had probably been hard to miss. 

That gave Phillip some pause. He reached out, found Anne’s hand again and laced their fingers together; it was grounding and real and Phillip vowed he was never letting go again. 

“You’re not worried anymore?” he asked, watching as she absently drew patterns on the back of his wrist with her finger.

After a moment she took in a shuddering breath and shook her head. “I’m still worried, still a little scared about all this.” She cast a glance over her shoulder, toward the room at large. There were covert looks, of course, though no one dared say a word. Which was something at least. 

“But the thing is, the idea of truly losing you? That scared me more.” Anne’s eyes swam with tears as her fingers tightened around his, her fears getting the better of her. 

“Well, as you kindly pointed out I am not dead,” he said with a laugh. 

“No, you’re not. Why did you think you were?” 

Phillip settled his head against his pillow, trying to get more comfortable again. Despite his best efforts and dearest wishes, his eyes felt heavy, the needling pull of sleep persistent and inviting. 

“There was an angel kissing me, it seemed logical in the moment.” 

Anne giggled, and if Phillip didn’t know better he might’ve said she looked rather charmed by the sentiment. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was happy. Happy in the same way he was, with that bright glowing joy spreading throughout your body until you could feel it in your very toes. 

“You should get some sleep,” she murmured.

“That sounds nice.” He closed his eyes and could sense Anne reach up a moment before her fingers slid into his hair, calm and soothing. 

“I’ll be here when you wake up.” That also sounded nice. 

He still wasn’t entirely convinced he hadn’t reached some higher plane, but for now he really couldn’t bring himself to care. The last thing Phillip was aware of before sleep took him, was Anne’s lips brushing the corner of his mouth and her whispered, ‘I love you.’

Honestly, he could get used to heaven.


End file.
